Chapter 10 #2
Nate inclined his chin, grabbing the bourbon like it was a lifeline and immediately taking a gulp that made a real dent in the amount. I glanced between the two of them. “Your dad is already engraving the wedding invitations.”
Alex scrubbed his hand over his face and groaned. “Christ. I didn’t know he was that far along with this plan. Okay. Sit.”
I didn’t. Instead, I tracked him with my gaze when he started pacing, watching Nate from the corner of my eye as he knocked back the bourbon like a runner sucking down water after a marathon. Finally, when neither of them said anything, I let out a harsh exhale through my nostrils.
“Okay, what exactly is going on with you two?” I asked. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan of the whole arranged marriage thing, particularly considering she doesn’t even know the guy, but that’s not what this is about, is it?”
Alex shook his head, pacing for another beat before he sank down on one of the armchairs and looked up at me. In that moment, he seemed ten years older than he had even this morning, his face drawn and suddenly a little ashen.
“Gregory is not a good guy, Trent,” he started slowly. “He pretends to be. He charms the socks off everyone with that accent and the title, but he’s a social-climbing asshole who got himself run out of England with pitchforks. Now, he’s here trying to get back on his feet.”
“By going after Charlotte?” I stared at him, taking in the slump of his shoulders and the clenched jaw. “Are you sure?”
Alex nodded once, the motion sharp and certain. “He’s after the inheritance she gets when she marries. I’ve tried talking to Dad, but Gregory’s father is an old friend. Dad just sees the title and the pedigree. He thinks this is an ideal match for her and he’s not budging.”
Nate sighed, leaning his shoulder against a bookshelf, his bourbon already half gone.
“Charlotte seems taken by him already. It’s a shit show.
If she marries him, family get-togethers are going to suck ass.
I mean, I know there are bigger issues, but I’m just saying.
I don’t want to listen to that blowhard tell stories about how great he is for the rest of my life. ”
Something flared hot in my chest. I didn’t like the sound of any of this. At all.
Alex shook his head, visibly upset. “I’ll talk to her. She doesn’t know what she’s getting herself into.”
Charlotte, sweet, kind, big-hearted Charlotte, was being swept right into this with no idea she was being hunted. My free hand curled into a fist, but I perched on the edge of the desk casually, trying not to show that the thought of this was pissing me off too.
“It should be up to Charlotte, though,” I said, feeling like I needed to point out the obvious. “Shouldn’t it? You can give her the information, but people fall for who they fall for.”
Both brothers stared at me like I’d sprouted horns, completely taken aback. Nate frowned hard. “Up to Charlotte? No.”
Alex actually scoffed, but there wasn’t any humor in the sound.
“Gregory won’t even try once they sign on the dotted line.
He’ll disappear on her the second her inheritance hits his bank accounts.
This isn’t speculation. It’s not a hunch.
It’s a pattern, but Charlotte might not see it that way.
She’s smart, but she always wants to see the best in people. ”
“Have you got proof?” I asked. “If you can show her, it’s not about what she wants to see. It’s about who he really is.”
“I’m working on it,” Alex muttered. “She’s not the first girl he’s done this to, but his family still matters in England. Gregory is using our family as a steppingstone back to relevance for himself, but getting anything concrete from that side of the pond hasn’t been as easy as it should be.”
Nate folded his arms, glass still dangling from one hand. “We can’t sit back and let her get blindsided.”
The brothers started spinning themselves into knots, trying to figure out what angle to take, whether to warn her, and whether warning her would push her straight toward Gregory out of sheer stubbornness.
I stayed quiet, wondering if they realized they were talking about this like it was a negotiation and not their sister’s life, but when I opened my mouth to say as much, the library door burst open.
All three of us half-jumped as we turned just in time to see Charlotte rushing in, her eyes wide and her cheeks pale. She clutched the doorjamb like she wasn’t sure her legs would hold her upright if she let go.
Alex went still and Nate had shut up mid-sentence, but his mouth was still open. She pulled her shoulders back when she saw us, clearly trying to find her composure, but I could see the tremor in her chin.
Alex swallowed hard, his voice softening. “Char, we need to talk.”
“Later,” she said breathlessly, her eyes darting around the room like she was trying to make sure it was just us. “I need help.”
Her brothers straightened instantly, Nate going as stiff as a board and Alex already rising from his chair. Their reaction made the tight coil in my gut ease. Whatever else the Westwoods were, they protected their own.
“I can’t do it,” she blurted before either of them could speak. “Dad wants me to make a match with Gregory, but I can’t do it. I cannot marry that guy.”
Alex blew out a strangled breath of relief, but Nate just shook his head. “Okay, I hear you, but Dad can still make it happen, Lottie.”
Charlotte made a small, wounded sound. It was barely audible, but it hit me like a punch. Alex, however, was suddenly looking straight at me, and all at once, I knew why he’d called me to Chicago.
Mother-fluffing-fucker.
I was his ace in the hole, the back-up plan he was hoping he wouldn’t have to use.
No. Nope. No sir. I ain’t doing it.
I should’ve shut it down right then and there. I wasn’t getting tangled up in Westwood family politics and I sure as hell wasn’t volunteering myself as tribute in a marriage circus I barely understood, but then Charlotte looked at me too.
Not at Alex. Not at Nate. At me—and the desperation in her eyes rewired every rational thought in my brain.
“Use me,” I heard myself say with a shrug, like it was a casual suggestion instead of pouring gasoline on a bonfire.
Alex’s smile came fast, his relief palpable while Nate blinked like someone had spoken in tongues, but he didn’t object. Charlotte stared at me, completely incredulous until it seemed to dawn on her what I’d meant. Then her expression snapped into a fierce scowl.
“No,” she said instantly, throwing her hands up and taking a few steps back, her head shaking again and again. “No. No, no, no, no, no.”